Putting AIDS In The (RED)

MSN Music will host the (RED) Wire launch party Dec. 1, the 20th anniversary of World Aids Day, with exclusive songs and videos from artists including U2, Coldplay, Death Cab For Cutie, Sheryl Crow, Dixie Chicks, John Legend and Jay-Z, according to USA Today.

Subscribers, who’ll pay a monthly fee of $5 for the service, will receive weekly e-magazines with exclusive songs, videos and slide shows from participating artists.

“The goal was something that wasn’t just a one-off CD, but an ongoing service that would generate an ongoing flow of money,” Hear Music founder Don MacKinnon, who engendered the project, told USA Today.

Upcoming issues of the magazine will reportedly include a song featuring Elvis Costello and The Police, a Christmas number with Elton John and The Killers and tracks by Bob Dylan and R.E.M.

The service will also provide subscribers with frequent updates regarding the organization’s efforts, MacKinnon said. Part of proceeds will go toward providing medicine to those affected by AIDS in Africa.

“So many charities show a picture of a dusty village and ask you to send $10,” MacKinnon told the paper. “We want to give people a real window into the culture of Africa, something that can help them understand in deeper ways. We’re trying to get cameras to teenagers, so they can show us their lives.”

More information is available at red.msn.com.